Now that Thanksgiving has past, I feel ready to begin the Christmas season. First thing's first, the decorating!

I wish I could shop at TJMax all day and snatch up all the holiday decor, but I have no where to store it when the season ends. Living in Brooklyn with 2 roommates, we don't have a ton of extra closet space, so when it comes to decorating, I like to try to think of easy, cheap ways to spruce things up when the holidays come around.

Trim the white paper to fit into the frames you selected. The gift box and tree are small and can be cut down to fit in a small frame easily, the ornaments require a bit of a larger frame if printed without scaling.

Back the white paper with the cut out with the fun papers your selected!

This is where I used the gold tape- I covered the top of the ornament with little rectangles, cute right? - If you don't want to use tape, just leave the cut out so the decorative paper shows!

Using the bakers twine, make small bows. and tape into place.

Place the assembled paper and bow into your frame and you're all done!

You see above where I used a second type of ribbon, but you don't have to, use the twine or leave the cutout showing.

Using small bows made from the same ribbon or bakers twine on all of the cutouts creates a family look to all of the frames, even if you use different papers, like I did.

Its amazing how 4 square cut outs becomes a festive gift box just like that!

Place on shelves like shown earlier or create a cluster of these cuties on a table, where ever you choose, they will be a perfect addition to your holiday season!

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyous holiday! I'll be taking a few days off to enjoy the holiday with the fam and wait for Santa. Make sure to take some time to remember what you are grateful for this year and to relax, you deserve it! xo- JS

Christmas isn't complete without some festive sugar cookies! You can get crazy with the decoration or keep it classy, whichever way you choose, throw 'em in a treat bag and send them off to a loved one and make their day!

This year I tried the sugar cookie recipe A Beautiful Messposted. It looked super-easy, which is my kind of cookie. I've got a few extra tips for 'ya to make the process EVEN EASIER that I will add throughout the post.

TIP 1 : You can get in there with your hands to get it to form. Really get in there, the mixer did me no good!

4 / Form a ball from the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (or over night).

TIP 2 : Divide the dough into 4 parts and wrap them all separately. It is extremely difficult to roll out a huge hunk-o-dough. You'll thank me. I had to divide it even further because of my limited counter space.

TIP 3: The dough will be reallllllllly hard when you remove it from the fridge, let the dough sit out for a few minutes to start to come to room temperature, but not warm. Start working the section of dough you want with your hands before you have at it with the rolling pin. If you start rolling and it is crumbling apart, it will be a b*tch to roll out and you will get frustrated (I DID!) so be patient with it and make sure it is the proper consistency when you start rolling.

5 / Lightly flour your counter top and roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thinkness.

TIP 4 : Flour the rolling pin as well. Flour is the key to the kingdom here kiddies, so don't be shy. Yes, the counter should be just lightly floured, but flour as necessary. You should lift and move the dough around as you roll it out to roll it evenly. If you can't lift and move it the surface should have more flour on it. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin in the process and pulls up, the pin needs more flour. FLOUR POWER!

6 / Use cookie cutters to cut out your shapes. Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes until the edges begin to brown.

TIP 5 : This recipe makes a ton of cookies. It says 2 dozen, but I made a bunch of smaller shapes so it made more. I unfortunately only have 1 good cookie pan. After you roll and cut one section of dough, but 'em babies in the oven and keep rolling and putting and place the additional cookie cut outs on a piece of floured parchment paper to the side. The cookies only take 8-10 minutes to bake so by the time you are done with the next dough batch you can transfer the cooked cookies to a wire cooling rack and put the next batch in. I didn't even wait for the cookie pan to cool, I just plopped 'em on and popped 'em in. This will make things move very quickly.

7 / Remove from oven and move to a cooling rack.

Cool completely before decorating.

INGREDIENTS (ROYAL ICING) /

4 cups confectioners' sugar

3 tbsp. meringue powder

½ tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup (possibly a bit more) warm water

(if you prefer an icing with egg whites use the other one in this post)

* This recipe made enough icing for 2 full batches of cookies (I made both standard and cocoa cookies)

1 / In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder until combined.

2 / Slowly add the water and beat on medium to high speed until very glossy and stiff peaks form, about 5 to 7 minutes. If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more powdered sugar or water.

3 / Ice away!

TIP 6 : The ladies of A Beautiful Mess say in order to not flood the cookie you have to outline the shape in buttercream, but I disagree! These cookies are supposed to be easy, who wants to make ANOTHER element, not I! Make the royal icing and let it sit for about 1-2 minutes (the air hardens the icing very quickly) and fill a piping bag. Test the consistency of the icing on a piece of parchment or a reject cookie, if it doesn't hold then either add more sugar or let it sit a bit more. I don't use a tip, I just snip a tiny piece of the piping bag off for a small opening. Carefully outline the shape you want to fill, staying a bit away from the edge of the cookie as pictured above. By the time you get through all of the cookies, the ones you did first will have hardened and then you can use the piping bag to fill the shape and the original outline will act as a barrier to prevent the icing from spilling over!

You can use gel coloring to color the icing too, just add small amounts of coloring to small batches of icing. Don't forget to add any sprinkles or sugar or any decore while the icing is stil soft, remember it hardens quickly!

COOKIE BAKING COMPLETE! I kept it classy with these and when I package 'em all up I'll share the pics with you.

I'd love to see what cookies you made this year! Throw me a tweet @128johnst with #SantasSnack with your images.

As I said yesterday, I am no cookie expert, and Heidi from Foodie Crush is, and I always have such great success with her cookie recipes I decided to go back for more, and I knew the Chocolate Covered cookie recipe was THE ONE.

My brother didn't love the Autumn Pies I brought to Thanksgiving, I really have my work cut out for me here kiddies. I told him his palette wasn't sophisticated enough, he told me to leave veggies out of dessert. He better love these cookies! White Chocolate and Pretzels IN COOKIES. DONE AND DONE.

6. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies are set but still soft in the center. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

The mix of salty and sweet is de-lish in these cookies. Again, I should mention that I don't love to bake cookies, but for Christmas you just have to! These were really easy to make, I guess I prefer drop cookies to cookies you roll out!

Two cookies down! I should probably start my Christmas shopping soon, but there's so much baking to do! There's more cookies coming your way this week....

I would never fix my own car, file my own taxes or cut my own hair, I leave it to the experts, so I'm not going to pretend that I am a cookie baking queen anytime soon. I leave it to the experts, I turn to Heidi of Foodie Crush to show me how its done. Let's start with Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk! I have to tell you, I don't LOVE making cookies, but these were super easy to make and SO GOOD. I would make them again!

6 / Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Don’t over bake. (I thought they weren't done, but I did pull them out at about 9 minutes and they are perfect!) Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Leave 'em for Santa with a glass of cold milk, or eat them all yourself. They are incredibly rich and sweet and everything a cookie should be. Thanks Heidi for the recipe.

Come back for some more cookies tomorrow!

What are you baking? Tweetat me @128johnst with #SantasSnack with your images!

Just over a week left until the jolly bearded man comes down your chimney! I wish I had a bit more time to show you all I do to prepare for the holiday. I wish I had more time, period and I'm sure you do too! I was busy-busy this weekend baking cookies (that Ill be sharing later this week!) so LUCKY FOR US I stumbled upon a FANTASTIC 24 days of Christmas Free downloads!

Nothing says holidays like Gingerbread! The smell that fills the house is magical. Gingerbread is perfection, one time a year, and that time is now. I get the catalogs from King Arthur Flour and they are always amazing. Beautiful. Make me want everything! The most recent one they included a gingerbread cupcake recipe, so I though I'd give it a go, and I am pretty happy with the outcome! Between the cupcakes, the cookies AND the CAKE I was baking for my bestie (don't worry I'll share it after the holidays!), I was uber nervous to mess something up, and had no time to start over, so I trusted My Girl Martha (Stewart of course) for the cookie recipe.

Start with the cookies if you want to make them, they require refrigeration in the process. If you don't wan't to make the cookies, I won't be offended, skiperoo right over the instruction and get bakin' the cupcakes!

Download the recipe card with illustration here for keeps. Recipe with images below...

GET BAKING!

Yields 12 cupcakes in standard liners

FOR THE COOKIES /

2 cups flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. cloves

¼ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

⅓ cup packed dark-brown sugar

⅓ cup molasses

1 large egg

1 / In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2 / In a separate bowl beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.

3 / Beat the molasses and egg into the butter mixture.

4 / With mixer on low, add dry ingredients; mix just until a dough forms.

5 / Place dough on floured plastic wrap; pat into an 8-inch square. Wrap well; chill until firm, 1 to 2 hours. * The chilling of the dough is VERY important, don't breeze over this!

8 / Freeze rolled dough (on paper) until firm, about 20 minutes. Again, don't skip this step! Keep the dough cold at all times. I made a HUGE mistake and rolled the dough out on the counter above my dishwasher, which was running, and the counter was warm and ruined half the dough. Super bummer, I know, so KEEP IT COOL, learn from my mistakes!

3 / In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, molasses and egg.

4 / With an electric mixer, add the half the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then half the water, and repeat. Mix until well combined scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

5 / Spoon the mixture into liners filling ⅔ the way. Bake for 16-19 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

FOR THE FROSTING /

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 package cream cheese, softened

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 / Beat together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.

2 / With the electric mixer running add the sugars and cinnamon beating until well incorporated.

3 / Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

TA-DA! CHRISTMAS IN A CUPCAKE! King Arthur said to make for 20-22 minutes, but I tested at 18 and they were done, and a bit over done already, so make sure to test around 15 or 16 minutes. They may need more time, but better safe than sorry!

This was my first time making gingerbread, and boy did I learn a lot! Cookies can be hard! I think I might challenge myself to a gingerbread house, any tips?

Nothing transports me back to Christmas as a child like a snow globe, when you're small and your world is still perfect and bright, you believe in Santa and Elves and Christmas Miracles.

What you'll need... If you want to make a snow globe (with water): Jars of various sizes, some mini bottle brush trees from your local craft store, crazy glue or some sort of water proof glue, glitter, holiday paper tape and ribbon (I used my girl Martha Stewarts for both, but its worth it because they're so cute and I have a bunch left for more wrapping) and glycerine (available at most drug and baking stores, prevents the glitter from falling too quickly).

For the terrarium: substitute the glitter with artificial snow (UPDATE: i just saw that Sweet Paul did a similar project and used coarse sea salt instead of artificial snow!) and drop the glycerine.

Glue the trees into place on the lid. Make sure they are far enough away from the edge that the jar will still close. I also glued some in the bottom of the jar to try it out, and I love them too.

For the Snow Globe, fill the jar with water almost to the top, a pinch of glitter and a dash of glycerine. Close the jar up real tight and give it a shake and you're all done.

You can paint the lids if you'd like, I covered mine with the paper tape to give it a little pazazz.

For the terrarium, add your desired amount of artificial snow and close it up. The artificial snow won't work for the snow globe (trust me, I tried, IT FLOATS!) so don't add water to these.

Use the chalk board tags we made yesterday to finish off the project. I prefer the non-water ones, but apparently a friend said they don't count as "snow globes" hence why I call them terrariums (and apparently liking them makes me uber hipster, but I just think it makes me uber cool, so whatevs).

What are you waiting for? Get a-makin'-em. Super easy, inexpensive, and a perfect gift! You making anything good for the holidays I need to know about?

Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa's coming so we better be ready! I'm guessing you didn't finish buying your presents yet, don't worry, me either. (To tell you the truth I didn't even start!) What i DID start doing was figuring out how to WRAP because it's so FUN and PRETTY!

I've wanted to make salt clay stuff for a while now, so why not start with ornaments & GIFT TAGS! Cover 'em in a bit-o-chalk-paint and you have a perfect little darling!

What you need: Flour, Salt, Water, a rolling pin (I used to use soup cans before I invested so get creative if you don't have one!) ribbon and cookie cutters. YUP, that's it! Here's the ratio 1 cup flour, ½ cup salt, ½ cup warm water. I doubled to get the amount I wanted and it worked just fine, so make as much as you want, just keep the ratio right.

To wrap like the image above in addition you'll need a paper bag, a tiny brush, an ink pad and some twine.

1 / Mix together the flour, salt and warm water.

2 / Work it all together with your hands until the dough forms.

3 / Divide the dough into rollable parts (I cut mine in ½) and roll it out on a well floured surface.

4 / Using whatever cookie cutters you choose start cutting. (They make some adorable ones, try to get a gift tag shape if you can, but any will work.)

5 / Using a straw punch a hole towards the top of the cut out so that you can insert a ribbon to hang!

I punched all sort of holiday shapes. For this particular post I am showing you the tags, but I will be painting these babies for the tree!

6 / Bake the cut out dough at 325˚F for 1 hour.

Let cool completely before decorating!

7 / Break out the chalk board paint and give them a nice even coat. Let dry about 30 minutes then give another coat.

8 / Wrap your package in a paper shopping bag as if it was wrapping paper. Take one of the clay ornaments you made and use it as a stamp to make an adorable pattern. Touch up the places your ornament didn't stamp with a brush and the ink from the stamp. Let the stamped paper dry for a while before you get wrapping.

9 / Loop ribbon through the hole you punched in the ornament. Tie the twine around the wrapped box and loop the ribbon attached to the gift tag into the bow just like a regular gift tag! Write the name of the recipient and you are all set! TA-DA! Beau-ti-ful!

Oh whats that on the left, a snow globe? Why, yes, yes it is. What DIY do I have for you tomorrow you ask? Why yes, yes I am going to show you how to make those too! Happy Holidays! Did you start wrapping yet?

Keeping with the holiday spirit, you have to check out the holiday cards by The Hungry Workshop. Simon and Jenna Hipgrave are masterminds when it comes to design and letterpress. Their "enthusiasm for the craft of letterpress combined with our expertise and love of design, typography and illustration ensures that every project, big and small, is imbued with heart and soul."

Follow them on Instagram. Its fun. They're fun. Fun all around. My dream job you ask? Well, other than being a blogger and sharing with ya'll all day and night, working for The Hungry Workshop. As much as I love the interwebs, nothing beats the feel of a letter press card. NOTHING.

And lets be honest, anyone that can make "Merry Fucking Christmas" look this good is someone I want to hangout with.

Have you seen any cards this year that blow your mind like these? Ga'head, try to top 'em, you won't be able to!